[ask] Low level format software for Toshiba Mk4021gas

Guys, need help here! Anyone knows where can i download low level format software for Toshiba HD (MK4021GAS)?? Cause yesterday i crash my windows and suddenly it shows bad sector. Any one knows how to fix bad sector? Any help appreciated. Thanx in advance.

Cheers,
Toshi

 

I'd back up your data sooner rather than later. You can run check disc. If if finds anybad sectors it will cordon them off so Windows won't write any data to it.

-Press the <Start> button.
-Select <My Computer>.
-Under Hard Disk Drives highlight the disk which you want to scan.
-Open the <File> menu and choose <Properties>
-Open the <Tools> tab.
-Click the <Check Now> button.

 

Thanx, but I know the procedure to check my hard drive. What i'm asking is the program to fix the bad sector which i know my hard already have. Does any one know how to low level format my toshiba hard drive. Cause when i seach in the toshiba website. They don't seem to provide the software. Anyone have the software for toshiba?? Thanx in advance

 

i don't think a low level format will fix a bad sector.

 

If for pyhsical damage u can't fix the bad sector but i don't think mine is this kind of problem. Something to do with the windows system file which the was corrupt.

 

You can't do a LLF but maybe this page can help. Or you can download Active@ Kill Disk, which does a zero-fill wipe (some people mistakenly call this a low level format). I've used this program on my own computers. It just wipes every sector with ones and zeros, erasing every bit of data (formating doesn't erase, it just tells the OS to go ahead and write over next time around). After you do a zero-fill, install XP and for your format option use the regular format not quick format.

When Windows finds bad sectors, it flags them so it won't ever write to them again - this is also called re-mapping. That's how windows "fixes" them (it's the only way to fix them). It's true that you can't really fix a bad sector, however a lot of times the "bad sector" error can be wrong. When this is the case (and you only know by trying), running a program like Kill Disk or DriveWipe followed by a standard windows format, can often solve the problem. Use a zero-fill utility instead of any so-called low-level format utilite - zero-filling is the closest thing you can get to bring your hard drive back to factory condition. You can't low-level format modern drives yourself and theres no need to do so even if you could. And like I said earlier, many people (including many zero-fill software companies) call zero-filling low-level formatting.

After you do a zero-fill and windows still finds an error, theres nothing you can do but accept it and move on. Just let Windows do it's little fix (err re-mapping of the hard drive sector layout). Once that's done, you won't have any problems. Think of it like a dead pixel that you can't even see.

Info: Low Level Format

Info: Zero-Fill Utilties

 

Thanx man, i will try u'r advice. Thanx a lot once again.

 

Hi Toshi,
It was a long time but have you find a low level format software for Toshiba HD ?
Thx for your help !

 

Greetings.

My suggestion would be to go the website www.ultimatebootcd.com and get the ISO file to create your own ULTIMATE BOOT CD. The disc will contain a host of utilities for PC (and laptop) testing and maintenance, and it will boot from your computer's CD drive without the need for Windows or anything else.

I have an older version that I customized for my own needs, and I use it on a frequent basis in my work (deep electronics and PC repair). What you are looking for will be found in the HARD DISK section of the UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD). "Salvation" is a good hard disk surface scan (and possibly repair) utility, and I also lean on the "Gateway GWScan" as it's compatible with most hard disks (it doesn't attempt to repair errors, but it's good at reporting on your hard disk, and it will do a "mid-level" format (only the factory can do low-level formats, but all you need do is erase the sector(s) to have a cleared hard disk).

I hope this is helpful.

Thanks!

Andrew....

 

You cannot "low level format" a disk. Period. There is no way to do it and anyone telling you to do so is misinformed. Even if you could do such a thing, it would destroy your drive, not fix it.

Describe your problem and maybe someone can help in fixing it.

 

You don't. Normally hard drives will work around a bad sector automatically, and you won't even know that it's there. The fact that you even see a bad sector means that you need to back up your data now, as you have a drive that almost certainly has a ton of bad sectors that it can no longer route around. It's probably dying. Try running HDTune and see what it says about the SMART status, and try doing chkdsk under Windows. But be prepared to replace the drive. Also, read this.

 

Contrary to what the poster said, YOU CAN do a low level format. It is done on every new drive you you get from the factory.

During the manufacturing process, most drives have bad blocks/sectors. After a low level format, those sectors are hidden such that the operating system does not know they are there.

If your drive develops bad sectors in normal use, windows or whatever operating system you use sees those sectors and can hide them with utilities such as chkdsk.

Though not recommended in the field by manufacturers, you can use third party or manufacturer supplied utilities to low level format your drive in essence bringing it to near factory condition. This is what factory re-furbished hard drives are (MOST OF THE TIME).

That said, make sure you know what you are doing or do get someone with the prerequisite knowledge to help you do it. Be prepared as a low level format can take a very lond time. In the old days I remember a 20MB - yes, that is Megabyte taking overnight; then again, the computers were slow in those days but it could still take a few hours even on a Pentium 4 depending on the hard drive size.


Try hddguru.com for a freeware utility.

Israel Ameh

 

Welcome to the forum.

You may be interested in reading this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_formatting#Low-level_formatting_.28LLF.29_of_hard_disks which clearly talks about what low level formatting is, and why you CANNOT do it on modern hard disks. It is not physically possible. The interesting sections are "Transistion away from LLF" and "Disk Reinitialization".

Even the manufacturers refer to "low level formatting", but it is also an error on their part.

 

what's th difference between low level formatting and zero filling ?
which one repair/remove bad sectors ?

 

Please read the post above yours, specifically the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_formatting#Low-level_formatting_.28LLF.29_of_hard_disks

The answer to your question is that the two things you mention have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Zero filling fills free space with zeros.
A chkdsk will scan for and handle bad sectors.

Neither of those things is a low level format.

 

chkdsk can't remove bad sectors

 

Nothing can FIX bad sectors... they are bad. Chkdsk can scan for bad sectors, attempt to recover the data, then mark those sectors as "bad" so they are not used again. A regular format (not a quick format) would do the same thing, but that will also erase all of your data. Look at the /f and /r options for chkdsk.

There's probably some other software out there that can do this too, but no matter what you use, it's not a low level format.

 

I tried to format my old 80GB SATA drive, but I got this message:

...

Creating file system structures.
Format failed